This invention relates to cooking facilities and particularly to a new and inexpensive rack for grilling chicken legs in a new and improved manner.
In barbecuing chicken legs, it is extremely difficult to cook the legs uniformly without burning. The legs must be constantly watched and rotated on the grill. Unfortunately, even with considerable attention, it is quite easy to burn the legs or cook the legs in a non-uniform manner. The present invention is designed to permit uniform cooking of a plurality of chicken legs without the problems associated with prior art method. The invention comprises a unique rack which holds the legs in a vertical position spaced at a predetermined distance above the fire for uniform cooking without the problem of burning.
In the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 2,269,310 discloses a display device for supporting and displaying axe and shovel handles. The device includes a plurality of spaced parallel slots with openings at one end. The device is for a use different from the present invention and apart from apparent similarity of parallel slots, is different in structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,046 to Battaglia, et al discloses a rack for grilling chicken legs in a barbecue comprising a flat elongated rack surface including a plurality of slots to hold chicken legs in a vertical position at a predetermined distance above the grill. The slots are sized to support chicken legs by engaging the leg joint with the meaty leg portion extending vertically below the flat rack surface. Applicant""s invention is an improvement on this design.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,869 is directed to an adjustable barbecue rack for supporting a plurality of spareribs. The device includes a plurality of racks removably secured to a main rack. Another version of a barbecue rack is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,585 wherein a cooking surface is defined by spaced rods formed in a particular manner.
Other patents of general interest include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,677,906; 4,583,647; 4,765,584; 4,184,592; and, 4,542,684. None of the prior art patents mentioned above affect the patentability of the present invention which relates to a unique, efficient and inexpensive rack for grilling chicken legs.
This invention relates to cooking devices and particularly to a device or rack for grilling chicken legs on a barbecue marketed as the E*Z Legs rack. The prior art devices for grilling chicken legs were generally no more than an open grill where the legs had to be constantly rotated to prevent burning. While the concept of supporting chicken legs vertically over a grill is also disclosed in the prior art, such designs are relatively expensive and bulky an lack the features of the present invention. In the present invention, the legs are suspended from a specially designed wire rack at a predetermined distance above the fire to permit uniform cooking without burning.
The unique rack of the present invention comprises a unitary wire structure having a base, upwardly extending members at each end of the base, a transverse member joining the tops of the upwardly extending members and a plurality of substantially U-shaped members mounted to the transverse member at the open end of the xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d. The legs of the U-shaped members form a parallel slot between adjacent members to engage and support a plurality of chicken legs in a vertical position. The wire base is merely placed on a barbecue and the legs uniformly cooked in the parallel slots. The legs are readily removed from the slots with a fork or specialty tool.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a new and improved barbecue grilling device for chicken legs.
Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved inexpensive barbecue rack for uniformly grilling chicken legs.
A further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved wire barbecue rack wherein a plurality of chicken legs may be mounted in an upside down position with the meaty portion extending downwardly from parallel slots formed by wires to permit uniform grilling and preventing burning.
A more specific object of this invention is to provide a new and improved wire rack for grilling chicken legs and the like which is pivotally mounted to the barbecue cover to swing into and out of a cooking position and which includes a plurality of spaced parallel slots for insertion of chicken legs to hold the legs in an upside down position at a predetermined distance above the fire.